National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) 3,000m steeplechase champion Doris Lemngole is bullish about making her World Championship and Team Kenya debut count when she lines up for the global extravaganza in Tokyo in September.
The 23-year-old rising star will form part of a formidable Kenyan trio in the water-and-barrier event in Tokyo. She will line up alongside Olympic bronze medallist Faith Cherotich and 2023 World Cross Country junior bronze medallist Pamela Kosgei.
Lemngole earned a coveted slot in team Kenya after placing second in the national trials on July 22, clocking 9:24.69 behind Cherotich, who clocked 9:09.44. Despite her inexperience at the global stage, Lemngole is bullish about her chances of leaving a mark at the Tokyo showpiece.
"It means a lot to make this team go to Tokyo. I am so happy even though the results were not good at the trials," Lemngole said. Of the trio, only Cherotich has the experience of flying the nation's flag at the senior world stage.
Cherotich made her senior debut at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, where she settled for bronze, clocking 9:00.69 behind Bahrain's Winfred Yavi (8:54.29) and World record holder Beatrice Chepkoech (8:58.98).
She then made a second senior appearance at the 2024 Paris Olympics, yet again winning bronze in 8:55.15 behind Yavi (8:52.76) and Uganda's Peruth Chemutai (8:53.34). Kosgei has experience at the global stage but in the junior ranks, having placed fifth in 10:06.46 at the 2022 World U-20 championships in Cali, Colombia.
Going into Tokyo, Lemngole will seek to draw inspiration from her performance at the NCAA National Championships on June 14, where she ran a then-world-leading time of 8:58.15 to claim the title.
Americans Lexy Halladay (9:08.68) and Angelina Napoleon (9:16.66) completed the podium in that race. "I think running 8:58 was good and it told me I was capable of making the World Championships," Lemngole added.
Lemngole, based in the USA, had pitched camp at Ngong for two weeks before the national trials to sharpen her talons. She noted that the country's altitude played a major role in her performance. "I was struggling because of the altitude, but I am still happy."
With a ticket to Tokyo already secured, Lemngole hopes to sharpen her form for her World Championship debut. "I have to prepare very well because we are now going into the World Championships."
"I need to do more workouts and drills because I have to represent my country well," she added.
